1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a retractable handle assembly and, more particularly, to a retractable handle assembly available for a hand tool, a gardening tool and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional retractable handle assembly for a gardening tool in accordance with the prior art shown in FIGS. 9-11 comprises a shank 100, an extension pipe 110 mounted in the shank 100, a retractable pipe 120 movably mounted in the extension pipe 110, a mounting seat 160 mounted on the lower end of the retractable pipe 120 to move therewith and having a hollow inside having an upper portion formed with a screw bore 1610 and a lower portion formed with a tapered opening 1620, two locking blocks 170 pivotally mounted in the tapered opening 1620 of the mounting seat 160, a control head 150 mounted on the mounting seat 160 and having an upper portion formed with an outer thread 1510 screwed into the screw bore 1610 of the mounting seat 160 and a lower portion formed with a tapered pressing face 1520 that is movable to press the tapered opening 1620 of the mounting seat 160 and the locking blocks 170, a control rod 140 rotatably mounted in the shank 100 and extended through the control head 150 to rotate the control head 150, and a rotation member 130 rotatably on the lower end of the shank 100 and secured on the lower end of the control rod 140 to rotate the control rod 140.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the retractable pipe 120 is movable relative to the extension pipe 110 to adjust the distance between the retractable pipe 120 and the extension pipe 110 so as to adjust the whole length of the retractable handle assembly.
As shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, when the control rod 140 is rotated by the rotation member 130, the control head 150 is rotated relative to the mounting seat 160, so that the outer thread 1510 of the control head 150 is further screwed into the screw bore 1610 of the mounting seat 160, and the tapered pressing face 1520 of the control head 150 is movable to press the tapered opening 1620 of the mounting seat 160 and the locking blocks 170 to press the inner wall of the extension pipe 110 so as to lock the retractable pipe 120 onto the extension pipe 110.
However, when the rotation member 130 is rotated to an excessive extent, the outer thread 1510 of the control head 150 is deeply screwed into the screw bore 1610 of the mounting seat 160, so that the outer thread 1510 of the control head 150 is easily jammed with the screw bore 1610 of the mounting seat 160, thereby causing the retractable handle assembly inoperative. In addition, the locking blocks 170 press the inner wall of the extension pipe 110, so that when the retractable pipe 120 is pressed downward, the locking blocks 170 are easily jammed with the inner wall of the extension pipe 110, thereby affecting operation of the rotation member 130.